Wisdom Teeth
by Fan Of Games
Summary: Having one's teeth pulled can be painful. The pain is greater as more are pulled. Wisdom teeth can cause such pain, especially if one has all four. Chelan has all four and needs to get them removed. The poor angel is scared of the operation, though Dialo is right by her side for support and comfort, things Chelan needs if she'll gather her courage to go through with it.


"Would you like me to get some ice cream after this is over, Chelan?" It should calm your nerves after what the dentist says after he examines your teeth," Dialo offered her usually tranquil housemate in an attempt to unruffled her feathers—metaphorically speaking because she was not actually referring to the angel's wings. She smiled warmly at her, placing a hand on the poor girl's shoulder to provide comfort Chelan desperately needed if she was to get through this.

They were at the dentist's office in Blancblack Castle, sitting in the waiting room alongside other patients who had also come for an appointment to see one of the dentists. Some quietly read books and magazines from a bookshelf and magazine rack respectively. Others chatted amiably to one another about general topics of everyday life. This peaceful atmosphere was the norm here in the Gray Garden, a unique world where angels and demons made peace with one another and also welcomed visitors from other worlds so long as the foreigners came with good intentions and were well-behaved during their stay here. They didn't want a repeat of Ivlis' invasion months ago as the inhabitants dreaded the thought of what could've happened if he actually succeeded and what may have happened if another hostile force from another world decided to invade as well.

While everyone had gone on with their lives as normal and had recovered from that severe incident, one individual in particular dreaded what would soon happen to her—and it did not have anything to do with an invasion. Well, in a sense that could be connected albeit very difficultly, of course, though it wasn't an invasion in the usual sense. Of the people seated here waiting for their appointments, only a solitary angel found no solace in the appointment approaching at any moment now. She could not bear the thought of what would happen, and desperately wished to avoid it.

To say Chelan was afraid of the dentist underestimated how she really felt despite being an exactly correct guess of what her thoughts on the matter were. Yet she wasn't just afraid; she was beyond terrified due to being odontophobic. The poor girl was shivering uncontrollably, wrapping her arms around her legs which she drew closer while entering the fetal position. She had managed to sit upright in the chair, eyes darting around the waiting room uncomfortably as the color drained from her face entirely. Her heartrate sped up, the vital organ beating rapidly in her chest with each passing moment. Although she had tried to nervously hum a soft tune in an attempt to calm herself down, Chelan's quiet murmurings dissolved into frightened whimpering with tears in her eyes.

Her terrible fright worried Dialo because the demon knew exactly what Chelan feared more than the usual visits to see a dentist. Usually she wasn't so traumatized since Chelan would still be shifting uneasily in her seat, waiting for the annual checkup she and her housemate only had to go through twice a year. She would've still been scared, but not on the level of terror she experienced now. It was okay to feel afraid of the dentist, though the young angel was absolutely scared out of her mind because this checkup would be leading up to the feared oral surgery she would receive a few weeks later. Like many people who had to go through it, Chelan was having her wisdom teeth removed. It didn't sound so bad at first because it was like getting regular teeth pulled—something she had been through several times as she was growing up, so that could've added to the fear—as it was simply that, plus they would see a healer to take care of the pain afterwards. But not everyone had the same amount of wisdom teeth; some only had one, two, or three. The rest were unlucky to have four, and Chelan was in fact one of those unlucky individuals who needed all of them pulled. Unlike normal teeth, however, these could only be pulled instead of falling out like some teeth.

"It'll be okay, Chelan," Dialo murmured soothingly, gently stroking the angel's back. "It's just a simple checkup today, nothing too serious as of yet. You'll be fine so long as I'm with you." Unfortunately that wasn't too comforting than it usually was, especially since Dialo alluded to the removal of Chelan's wisdom teeth. The demon was fortunate not to have had any herself as some people didn't have any at all, but Chelan just had to be the unfortunate one of them both to have a full set of four wisdom teeth—top and bottom. The following days leading up to that appointment which the poor angel dreaded with every fiber of her would be rough for her as Chelan would find it hard to focus on anything else other than the terrifying encounter with the oral surgery, but Dialo ensured she would be there by her side throughout the affair to give Chelan the comfort she needed. Chelan required all the support she could get if she was to get through it with at least some courage from having her closest friend—and others there with her if they could make it—with her.

She whimpered timidly, cradling herself while rocking back and forth in the chair, waiting with dread for one of the attendants to finally break the tension of waiting by announcing her turn to see a dentist. That would actually heighten said tension even further, so breaking it likely wasn't an accurate, or even applicable means of describing it. Still, it was better than waiting because the procedure would be making progress towards the oral surgery. However, progress was something Chelan wished would regress instead of progress, besides wishing she never had wisdom teeth.

"Just take deep breaths and everything will be fine," the demon advised her calmly. "You'll feel much better when this is all over, but try to set your mind on other subjects so you won't have to think about this anymore until we come back for your surgery." It was good advice, but Chelan couldn't accept it because she knew it was still coming and would get her eventually. She was still going to have to deal with it in a few weeks, and that thought alone would plague her mind in these approaching days. They'd take a serious toll on Chelan's psychological health, breaking down all the mental barriers established in place in the false hope she'd be able to escape her fate. Each day would bring the same, old nightmares whilst she slept at night, biding her time until the procedure took place. "Try to relax, okay, Chelan? You'll be fine since everything's going to be alright."

But Chelan merely turned to look at Dialo, her eyes pleading with the demon to whisk her away from the dentist's office. If she was praying for divine intervention to spirit her away instead, perhaps to some faraway locale that didn't have dentists, the poor girl would've accepted that too. She tensed up from the stress that exhibited so much pressure on her to get this done that Chelan's eyes were practically begging her housemate if they could leave and forget about this. She simply kept whimpering as she cried in terror, trying her best to not disturb the other patients around them.

"I'm sorry, Chelan, but it needs to be done; otherwise they'll get impacted and cause more pain in the future," Dialo spoke truthfully. It was a harsh truth for Chelan, one which her housemate didn't know how to phrase any less bluntly, but she needed to say it nonetheless. Thankfully she'd used a gentle tone to convey the message so the impact wouldn't cause too much harm. "They will hurt you harder than they may now, and getting them pulled then will be more painful." The angel's eyes widened in horrified shock at this revelation and she became petrified with terror that left her whole body paralyzed despite still trembling violently. "That's why they must be removed as soon as possible so you won't have to go through such pain. Believe me, it's far better to get this matter done and over with now rather than put it off. It's only a onetime surgery and then it's done."

A onetime surgery…as if those words brought her any comfort because Chelan believed it was going to be some kind of death warrant. Only one thing had to go wrong during the operation for it to become a disaster as multiple problems could follow in its footsteps. It scared her because she felt her life—which she only had one of—was going to be snuffed out somehow during surgery in her mouth to remove the wisdom teeth. No matter how many times Dialo said that was unlikely and impossible, Chelan didn't feel any better. She hated how she distrusted her housemate on that point because fear overpowered her judgment, but the angel didn't know what else to do about it.

"Chelan," an attendant called out for her as he entered the waiting room to collect her. His announcement sent shivers down the girl's spine as she jumped in fright, seizing Dialo within such a bone-crushing embrace that the demon nearly suffocated had she not managed to gently untangle herself from the hug. The poor angel squealed timidly, curling in on herself and covering her mouth with one hand which the demon pulled away so Chelan could hold onto Dialo's arm instead.

"Come along, Chelan, it's time for your checkup," her housemate tenderly pulled her friend out of the chair and escorted her into a corridor leading to plenty of rooms with the equipment that dentists used to examine their patients' teeth. They crossed the threshold of one such room to wait for a dentist to come by, and Dialo had a hard time on her own getting Chelan to sit still in the seat which had the equipment attached to it. "Settle down, the dentist will be in shortly. Relax, you will not be getting them pulled today because it's only a checkup. Don't fidget so much; I'm here with you, so there's nothing to worry about." Dialo smiled, holding Chelan's hand even as the crushing pain hurt her since the angel gripped her with such force it reminded her of Macarona's strength.

Sure enough one of the dentists did show up a few minutes later to find the trembling angel seated in the chair. He was an angel like her, and he smiled reassuringly while preparing to examine her wisdom teeth with a little mirror attached to a small rod. Chelan swallowed heavily, hesitating to open her mouth because she wasn't sure if her wisdom teeth were getting removed today or the next time she came which was actually when they would be taken out. She tightened her grip and Dialo forced herself to not wince in pain and maintain her warm, comforting smile to help Chelan feel brave. Although the poor angel wished it would be over right away, the dentist merely cleaned her teeth and gums first before ending the session with her in a bit of pain because of a sharp object he had to use in order to get any tartar and bits of food off the gums and teeth and out of the spaces in between each tooth. She was slightly sore afterwards as more tears poured from her eyes while she whimpered timidly, but fortunately it was all over for now because she was done for today.

"There, all done," the dentist remarked once he finished. "You seem to be brushing well. I am quite impressed with how thorough you are with it. Your wisdom teeth have all emerged, so it is vital to remove them as soon as possible before they get impacted." That was a scary reminder. "Now then, Dialo, was it? You and Chelan have made the appointment for the oral surgery to take them out in a few weeks, correct?" he asked as the demon nodded to confirm she did set it.

"Yes, I've called after the last checkup a few months ago to establish it before setting up a quick appointment—this one—prior to the operation just to analyze the state of her wisdom teeth."

He nodded to show his approval. "Good, just be sure she keeps up her good brushing habits and make sure she uses mouthwash and flosses too. That's all she must do until then."

Dialo nodded as well. "Very well, thank you, Doctor for the checkup. I'll ensure she is well prepared for the oral surgery in a few weeks," she thanked him with a small smile, helping Chelan's trembling form out of the chair so they could leave the room and pay for the checkup and also the appointment in advance. The demon smiled warmly at the angel as they exited the office and made their way over to an elevator to take it down to the lobby. "Well, that's over and done with for now until your operation, Chelan. How about that ice cream I promised you earlier? Would you prefer I pick up a carton of it from the store so we can make milkshakes later, or do you want it from the ice cream parlor in town?" Her question went unanswered, however, because her housemate's fear hadn't dissipated despite having already left the dentist's office. Chelan's obvious despair because of her odontophobia concerned Dialo since the demon was worried the anticipation of it would be killing her close friend more than the oral surgery probably would have in Chelan's mind. She had known it was safe, though the demon couldn't convince the angel to calm down anytime soon. She only hoped this wouldn't scar Chelan and leave her too traumatized over the subject.

…

Dialo had hoped Chelan would've calmed down by this point, but it seemed her hopes had been unfounded even after the two of them had left the dentist's office a few weeks back. Chelan's normally upbeat tranquility was virtually gone during the past several days as the oral surgery was looming closer and closer until it towered over the poor girl. At first she was still so afraid, finding it difficult to calm herself because her phobia distracted the angel from her daily tasks. She couldn't focus that well, having more or less taken up agitated pacing while worrying about what was going to happen if things went south. Dialo understood why that was, and she stayed by her side a great deal more than simply being present. Unfortunately, even she couldn't snap Chelan out of her fear.

The frightened angel gave up on finding comfort in playing her violin, the music sounding almost like a creepily, somber solo by herself and a fast paced duet she couldn't control when her housemate played the piano. Dialo played it at times these past few weeks by herself, choosing the peaceful tunes which the strings in the baby grand piano in their living room related as her fingers danced along the keys. It still didn't help since Chelan felt the music was going to be played at some kind of funeral—hers—and it scared her more. She managed to get the chores done and her homework for school in addition to the in-class work they did together, albeit under much stress that impeded her concentration. Chelan always got plenty of good grades in school like her friends, but those were beginning to slip by a very slim margin from the usual As and Bs to an occasional C, and once she was literally on the verge of getting a D in the mathematics class she liked.

Even her behavior was becoming abnormal. Chelan spent long periods of time gazing into her reflection in mirrors and windows, placing a shaky hand over her mouth and whimpering about what she feared would happen if the surgery didn't work out well like it was normally meant to. It was hard for her to get a good night's sleep at times too because of the nightmares she had. Every morning she would awaken in a cold sweat, quietly weeping in the fetal position under the covers of her bed in the room she and Dialo shared together. Eating had been problematic too since Chelan felt hard foods could possibly break her adult teeth and the wisdom teeth that were supposed to be removed. Dialo was compassionate enough to prepare softer meals for her which the angel greatly appreciated, and she would always hold Chelan in a firm embrace to offer her some comfort.

These changes started off at a slow start in the beginning, but over time they intensified bit by bit until Chelan virtually became a sniveling wreck. Her demonic housemate felt the horror and psychological pain the poor angel felt despite not being a medium, but she couldn't provide escape from the reality Chelan had to face by getting her wisdom teeth pulled. It made her feel helpless, knowing her housemate was in a kind of danger; she couldn't do anything to help her aside from driving Chelan forward to the day of the oral surgery. It was tomorrow in fact.

Sighing in exhaustion as she flipped over a few pancakes she made for themselves as a way of having a breakfast dinner, Dialo stared at the meal somberly as she felt remorse for having made a tough decision on Chelan's behalf. She didn't want her to be in pain, hence why they had to have the angel's wisdom teeth pulled before they were impacted which would make them harder to get out. There was no easy way out of it but forward, and this was a much better alternative to putting it off until later when those wisdom teeth would really hurt Chelan's mouth something fierce. She hoped all would be well, but feared the poor girl really had become traumatized by the approaching operation. Her optimism which she had been maintaining for Chelan's sake had slowly withered.

Setting the pancakes onto a plate for Chelan, Dialo placed it on the table and was about to pour the batter for her own serving when she decided to call the angel down for dinner. She stepped out into the hall after turning off the stove so it didn't get too hot and passed through a trophy room of pottery the demon's second uncle had uncovered in a quarry by another town he lived in which he shared with her, leaving the rest for the museum he worked in there. Stepping up to the landing, she turned the corner and raised her voice to summon Chelan. "Chelan, dinner's ready!"

She waited for a response, but received none. Their bedroom door remained shut. Chelan's usually soft murmurings that she was coming down were silent and nonexistent.

"Chelan!" Dialo called again, getting worried now because her housemate should've exited the room by now to join her for supper. She swallowed after waiting for another reply that had also failed to come and walked up the second short flight of stairs into the second floor corridor, passing by the sliding door to the veranda of their home. "Chelan, supper's on the table," she repeated her call in different wording once she reached the door, knocking on it to raise the angel's awareness. Opening it and stepping inside to find the poor girl trembling with a blanket engulfing her form, a second sigh passed through Dialo's mouth as she approached her housemate to give her a hug.

Chelan heard her footsteps as the demon approached, clutching something by her chest and holding it and the blanket closer while whimpering. Tears flowed down her cheeks as Dialo halted next to the bed and sat down beside her, putting an arm around the angel to soothe her nerves.

"Don't worry, everything's going to be okay, Chelan," she remarked with a warm smile as they made eye contact. "I know we both have school tomorrow, but we can take the day off so you can recover from your surgery. It'll take a while, but it won't be too long. They'll apply a sleeping spell with an anesthetic effect on it, so you'll feel numb and won't be in so much pain during your operation." If she thought her words would bring Chelan comfort now, she was wrong, but Dialo's promise to stay with her throughout the affair would be upheld—the demon made sure of that since she received permission from the dentist to stay in the room with her. Her eyes fell upon the sketch in Chelan's hands and she became curious. "What's that? Did you make a lovely drawing?"

Chelan swallowed heavily, whimpering as she extended a trembling arm out so Dialo could take the picture and look at it. She had been hesitant to show her, but felt the demon had to know.

Dialo accepted it with a smile and unfolded the paper to see what Chelan had drawn…and immediately her eyes widened in horror at the sight of what the frightened girl sketched. It was an image of Chelan's own face, a self-portrait of her in the form of a drawing. Her artistic skills were very good since the angel certainly paid attention to detail, but maybe she had paid too much of it to the space where her mouth was. Chelan's lower jaw in the sketch was limp, dangling from either side of large scar-like gashes that ripped across her cheeks. Blood was pouring and leaking out of the portrayed injuries, a gory sight to behold. Dialo blinked several times, committing this picture to her memory and lowering it to look at the sniveling, shivering form of Chelan before her. While she tried to remain brave, the demon couldn't help herself since she failed to suppress a shudder.

Chelan whimpered, wondering if that was going to happen tomorrow—if her mouth would be ripped up all for the sake of removing the four wisdom teeth in her mouth.

Tears also formed in Dialo's eyes as well, just like in the angel's. "No, Chelan…" she said softly and embraced her housemate in a warm hug to soothe her nerves. "It will not happen." She'd become scared of the operation as well because of that drawing, but she couldn't be mad at Chelan for feeling that way. She understood how the terrified girl felt, but now she was shown the core of Chelan's fear and could comprehend it better than before. "That shall not happen. I'm sorry you've still got to go through with it, Chelan, but it's the only way. This picture," she remarked, showing the drawing to its artist, "is only your fear taking over, messing with you." She smiled warmly and caressed Chelan's cheek, holding the frightened angel close to her. "Everything shall be fine."

The angel stared into her eyes, still whimpering because she wasn't entirely convinced that it would be alright. More tears passed down her cheeks as she tried to comprehend the truth.

"Fear not, Chelan, I will be right by your side throughout this," Dialo reassured her with a hope that things really would work out well. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing her housemate in that horrible state. "Rest assured, I shall never abandon you to anything scary alone, by yourself. I would feel awful if that were to happen, and it would terrify me more than anything else because you'll be gone. Even so, I must do everything I can to help you for your sake, even if that includes making a difficult decision like this; though you needn't worry because I'll be there for you."

…

This was it, the big moment they've been waiting for throughout the past few weeks. Dialo had brought Chelan back to this place for the oral surgery to have her wisdom teeth removed, and the angel tried her best to be prepared and maintain a firm grip on her dwindling courage. The poor girl was very short of breath this morning, attempting to take deep breaths to soothe her nerves as a means of settling down to accept the operation. She was still in the same terrified state as on their last visit, but the demon knew Chelan was just trying to be as brave as possible for this operation. Casting a quick glance at the angel, Dialo flashed her a comforting smile and placed her hand onto Chelan's shoulder for a show of support which her housemate accepted by squeezing her hand. As an attendant called Chelan in for the operation, Dialo went with her and sat in a chair by that same kind of equipment used on their previous visit here. They waited for a few minutes along together, and the demon stood up to step over to Chelan to hold the angel's hand. "It'll work out, I promise."

Although Chelan was still terrified out of her mind, she nevertheless believed in the other's promise and did her best to be calm as Dialo returned to her seat once the oral surgeons came and began the operation. One of them applied the sleeping spell that had the anesthetic to numb Chelan and put her to sleep as well so she wouldn't feel the pain of them removing each wisdom tooth one at a time. It took a short while, and although Dialo was initially nervous like Chelan had been since she couldn't get that drawing from yesterday out of her mind just yet, she slowly felt better as time passed because the angel's fear—which the demon had begun to share with her—was unfounded.

Eventually the final tooth came out before a healer was brought in to check on Chelan. He used a minor healing spell since a more powerful one wasn't required. The pain went away within an instant, but the young angel was still asleep which was why Dialo had to wait a short while for her to wake up. And when Chelan did wake up, her eyelids fluttered several times to clear away a bit of blurriness caused by how groggy she felt. In any case she was alright as Dialo promised.

"See, what'd I tell you," Dialo said softly as she helped her friend out of the chair and went into the waiting room while they began to head out. "It wasn't so bad after all, was it?"

Despite the fact Chelan was still shivering timidly and continued to breathe deeply, she had looked to Dialo with a small smile to show she was fine and nodded while humming a happy note as her demonic friend helped her walk through the corridor after exiting the dentist's office.

"Good, I'm glad to hear you're feeling a little better now," Dialo murmured softly. "When we get home you can lie down for some much needed rest, okay? I'll get a few good movies we'll watch together, and you can put your head on my lap if you'd like. I can also play the piano too if you'd like. Does that sound good, Chelan?" She smiled warmly, holding the angel close.

Chelan hummed to show her approval, grateful everything worked out well.

…

 **Many of us have had to go through this at some point in our lives. Wisdom teeth could be an annoyance because of the pain, so I recommend getting them removed before they get impacted. Otherwise, as the story relates, they'll be harder to remove and can hurt more.**

 **I was actually inspired to write this from a couple brief bits of a recent Let's Play the guys of Achievement Hunter did in Minecraft; it was called Re-Find the Tower, Part One. Yet the idea was also thought of as Lovely Precure suggested I write about other characters like Dialo and Chelan. So I give thanks to Achievement Hunter and Lovely Precure for some good inspiration to write this idea, and I hope you enjoy reading this as I enjoyed writing it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Gray Garden; it's owned by Mogeko. I don't own content from any of the videos produced by Achievement Hunter and Rooster Teeth; it is owned by them because they're the ones who made the videos—just to clarify, I don't work for them.**


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